Bring the Noise, Please

Music is an almost infinite landscape of creative opportunity. The possibilities of sounds and combinations of are all but unlimited, and much less so now given the power of technology. Even within the very narrow scope of pop music, and within that rock music, the variety of content goes on and on, decade after decade. Just like snow flakes, no two compositions are ever the same. Well worn and highly straight- jacketed sub genres like punk can still be made to sound fresh, even after almost 40 years.

But in a broader context, the pop music landscape is pretty tightly structured. Guitar, bass, drums, voice, verse chorus verse bridge chorus. And that's it. A bit of harmony, an irresistible melody and a hook, and you're writing songs for Britney Spears. Everything is nice and pretty.

A number of years back I discovered what I like to call my aural palette cleansers. These are bands/songs/genres that have successfully explored and exploited the less traditional music pathways. And what I found was that after long periods of ear candy, my ears and brain craved for something completely inharmonious, and less than soothing. I needed to hear noisy, abrasive compositions, most of which didn't feature guitars or piano, the mainstays of most pop music from punk to country.

These bands rely heavily on electronica of one form or another, and are more sonically focused than "song" focused. I find that the artificial, or unnatural sonics, not produced by traditional instruments really refresh my listening, like an undiluted mouthful of Listerine clears out and wakes up your mouth.

The other day I just couldn't listen to another worn out song on the radio. I had to hear something unhomogenized, something raw, dangerous and rough. I went to my CD collection and picked out "The Fat of The Land" from Prodigy. It was just what I needed to hear. I cranked it up in my car on the way to work, and then again on the way home. Smack My Bitch Up, Diesel Power, Fire Starter. Loud, brutish, throbbing, punishing, what sweet relief. Such contrast to the radio, and everything expected and manufactured. After two listens I was feeling much better. But just to be safe, I went and grabbed Ministry's A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste.

I think a lot of Depeche Mode's appeal comes from the largely electronic structure of their music, and I find Depeche Mode to be one of those bands whose sound never seems to get old, it's still remarkably unique. I don't think I could ever get bored of listening to them.

So my advice is, every once and awhile put down that normal music and put on some noisy, industrial or electronic sounds. It will remind you of what's possible in music beyond the cut and dried and tried.